ITAR COMPLIANCE AUDITS & REVIEWS

Are your export compliance management procedures in full compliance with the ITAR and or the EAR and other export regulations? You need to be sure that each and every part of your operation is protected against illegal exporting and the risk of diversion. Given the seriousness export violations and the current amounts levied for fines, it is not worth the risk.

In order to ensure your compliance with all necessary export control regulations, audits are a necessary part of your business. FD Associates has the experience and qualifications to conduct export compliance audits within your organization across a number of different platforms. For the past 20 years, we've been working with many large-scale companies on a regular basis to successfully monitor their compliance with the applicable export regulations.

AUDIT APPROACHES

There are a number of audit approaches that FD Associates can offer that your company might consider, ranging from a review of current procedures and record-keeping practices to identify the general health of your export compliance system to a rigorous examination of your export management system. In some cases, the governing agencies will order that an independent audit be conducted by a qualified third party organization and FD Associates can act as this capacity. We also offer due-diligence audits of target acquisitions for companies considering acquiring a new company, to help limit the acquiring company's liabilities for unforeseen export violations by the acquired company.

RIGOROUS EXPORT COMPLIANCE AUDIT SYSTEM REVIEW AND EVALUATION

Occasionally full and rigorous audits are necessary. These types of audits may be conducted in conjunction with an internal audit team, or completely independent of any participation by company reviewers. The purpose of a rigorous audit is to ensure company management that its export compliance management system is robust and properly executed by those assigned to control it on a daily basis. The FD Associates audit team will gather extensive objective evidence and present its conclusions in a formal report.

FD Associates can conduct rigorous internal audits to clearly evaluate your company for adherence to its export compliance management procedures. These audits include a detailed examination of your export controls beyond just the record keeping. FD Associates' staff will interview company personnel to determine the degree to which they understand their roles in implementing export controls and to assess the effectiveness of your company's training system. We will fully examine your specific requirements in relation to current best practice export management systems. Our examination will be aimed at identifying potential risks, and evaluating procedures including establishing commodity jurisdiction, foreign national employee access (deemed export issues), technology controls, managing agreements and licenses and exporting and shipping . In the case of government mandated audits, we will ensure strict adherence to both the spirit and the letter of the request and satisfy all concerns that may have been expressed in the government's request.

Our associate's have had wide exposure to virtually every issue that might arise in the conduct of an export compliance audit. With our specialized skills, rich experience, and reliable industry knowledge, we will unveil your problem spots, assist in their correction and provide you with the assurance that your export compliance system is a robust manageable process aligned with your corporate goals and with the export control regulations it is meant to implement.

Whatever your auditing need, FD Associates can conduct an appropriate evaluation of activity or procedure. We can analyze your processes, help establish due diligence in an acquisition, and review activities surrounding any export violations or matters of non-compliance, whether he audit is directed by the US government or initiated by the company as part of its own internal compliance program. If during an audit, violations or matters on non-compliance are identified, we can advise you on the specifics of the necessary corrective action plan. If it happens that an exporting violation has surfaced as a result of our review of your company, we can work with relevant personnel within your company or with counsel as appropriate, to submit a voluntary disclosure on your behalf.

VIOLATIONS AND VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURES

No matter how effective the system is that your company implements mistakes will be made. If you are aware that an ITAR or EAR violation has taken place, you have two choices. You can disclose the incident or not. If you choose to voluntarily disclose your violation, the penalty, if any, will be far less severe than if the government, without disclosure, found the violation.

If you choose to disclose any matter of actual or potential export violation, FD Associates can assist by conducting a full investigation of the activity. We can assist in preparing any voluntary disclosures, if required. We will help you present the issue in a professional and well-documented manner to mitigate any penalties. We will help you understand how the violation occurred and how you can prevent such a violation from recurring in the future. Where appropriate, we can work with company or outside counsel to provide the required report to the Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement for EAR violations or the Department of State, Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance for ITAR violations.

Contact us today to if you are concerned that your company may have matters on non-compliance with the ITAR or the EAR.